Heart of Darkness
by Fullelven
Summary: Some worlds reside in light, others inbetween. But what of those worlds which reside in the dark?


**Title: Heart of Darkness**

**Author: CarthsLostPadawan**

**Summary: There are worlds that reside in light, others inbetween, but what of the worlds which reside in darkness?**

The gang was finally back in Destiny Islands and it looked like nothing had changed since they left. Well, save for one thing.

The girl was of average height, enough to come up to Riku's shoulder if she stood up straight, her long hair thin, straight, and looked as if someone had taken the midnight ocean and weaved it in with silk. Mysterious golden eyes glittered in the sunlight from which they could stare at without so much as a blink, her pale skin refusing to burn, tan, or even freckle. She was so skinny, so frail, it was a wonder that she was able to carry her own weight on such a tiny frame. However, even now as Riku, Kairi, and Sora watched on, she was schooling Tidus in a sparring match and making him look as if he'd never wielded a wooden sword in his life.

They moved closer, Selphie and Wakka already there and cheering the two on. There wasn't really much to cheer, though, with the girl expertly hacking away at the blonde-haired boy and leaving him room to do nothing but keep a constant guard against her attacks.

Relentlessly, she swung and sliced at him, his eyes wide with surprize. He hadn't expected to actually have a contest of any sort when Selphie had asked him to spar with her new friend. Obviously, she had been planning on showing him up for the sparring incident he and Wakka had pulled last week. From the looks of it, revenge just might have been hers after all.

Suddenly, the attacks stopped. She hopped backwards from him and turned her back, the look on her face unreadable. The three friends watched on, Tidus pulling himself from his defensive position on the ground to a standing position before starting to rush at her.

_Foolish girl, _Tidus thought to himself, _never turn your back on an opponent!_

Her ghoulish eyes locked with Riku's sea greens, holding his gaze for an undeterminable amount of time... at least that's how it seemed to him. One moment she was gazing determinedly into his depths, the next thing he knew Tidus was on the ground and his sword was sticking out of the sand a few feet away.

The sun was quickly setting on the island where Riku, Sora, and Kairi used to play together before they even knew there were such things as Heartless.

A fire had been set on the beach, Sora and Kairi sitting silently on a log before it while listening to Tidus and Wakka talk about blitzball. Though not the most interesting of conversations, it served its purpose as amusing when the two would reach a crossroads on strategy and teams. Riku had opted for staying away from the warm light of the fire to sit at the shoreline and gaze at the cool glow of the moon.

"Riku! There's someone I want you to meet," Selphie's small voice called from just off beside him. Looking up at her, his eyes once again were met with the brilliant glittering golds of the girl from before. Riku was never one to be caught spellbound and speechless, but he found himself at a loss for words when he met eyes with the young woman. "Riku, this is Sephyria Xïanius. Sephyria, this is Riku."

"Nice to meet you, Riku." A slight blush took over the cheeks of the warrior girl and she adverted her gaze from his to stare at an invisible glint of something or other in the tide of the water. Riku stood, brushing the sand off his hands onto his baggy gray cargo pants, offering one to her to shake.

"She's from a really far away island... what was it called again?" Selphie offered her an apologetic smile just as Sephyria took Riku's hand and shook it gently. The blush on her cheeks rose and Riku's tinted theirselves slightly pink to match. She brought her gaze though back to his, almost searching as she came to answer.

"I came from Xukynsious," she answered with a quiet pride in her tone. The handshake dropped, her hands found the back pockets of her black hip-hugger jeans and Riku let one travel to the back of his neck. Neither one looked at the other, their eyes traveling awkwardly over whatever they could find, before chancing another look at the other again. This time when their eyes met, they didn't look away.

"I'll leave you two alone to get better aquainted!" Selphie smiled and before either could protest, sprinted back up to the fire to sit with the others. Riku raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly to himself.

"Well, that didn't seem planned at all," he sighed offering his new aquaintance an apologetic glance. Sephyria laughed and shook her head.

"No... not at all." She passed a mock glare up the beach where Selphie was running around the others. "So... do you mind if I join you?"

Riku sat back down on the shore just as he had been before she came up and nodded. "I don't care." He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she sat down, her eyes gazing longingly out over the ocean and part of him wondered what she may have been searching for. "Where'd you learn how to fight like that?"

Sephyria didn't tear her gaze from the dark horizon before she answered. "You don't survive on my... _island_ unless you learn to fight. Our schools begin battle preporations as soon as you're old enough to attend." She set her jaw, turning slowly to gaze upon Riku with a solemn nostalgic spark in her eyes. "And some times not even that is enough to get you out alive."

The boy sighed, he knew what it was to be forced to fight before you were ready. He knew what it meant to fight for your life not knowing if you'd ever make it out alive. "So, why'd you leave? Fighting get too much for you?"

Sephyria let her gaze fall to the sand, a fingerless gloved hand drawing listlessly in it. "The fighting was all I had," she began with a sadness in her voice. "I just needed to come some place where I could be myself without worry..."

"Oh," he replied pathetically, immediately chiding himself for the lame comment. _Come on Riku, you can think of something better than "oh" to say._ "So where are you staying?"

There was an uncomfortable shuffle that went through her body, her cheeks becoming a slight pink before she started to clear her throat nervously. "I-"

"Because if you don't have a place to stay, you can stay at my house. My mom would be more than happy to let you stay... I think she'll just be glad to have someone else home for once," he found himself interrupting before he could stop himself. The girl's eyes flickered, coming to his to search almost unnervingly and once again he found himself unable to look away.

"I don't think that it would be... I can't." There was something in her manner that led Riku to think she was hiding something, more than he already knew even. On a hunch, he leaned closer to her, his voice lowered to a whisper.

"If there's someone from your old world after you, we can help you. My friends and I won't let anything happen to you." For a moment, she stopped all movement, even her breathing hitched in her throat.

_How could he know of other worlds... unless that "Sora" he's friends with is truely the chosen one of the Keyblade._ She quickly found herself lost in her own thoughts, her mind drifting to that dark blade of her own. _Some prophecies told of the Keyblade's chosen wielder bringing peace, other's telling of chaos..._

"Sephyria?" Riku's voice brought her from her thoughts and back to reality with a snap. "It's alright, I won't tell the others. But we-"

"Sora's the chosen one, isn't he? And Kairi, one of the Seven Princesses, correct?" She kept her voice down, as well as her gaze, staring at her reflection in the tide that had begun to come further in. This time it was Riku's turn to not move.

_How could you -_ "Yeah." _I don't understand how you could know that._

"And it was you that helped Sora defeat Xemnas of the Organization." This time her eyes came back to his, an unbridled look of awe within them. It was so intense that Riku actually leaned away from her some, taking in her subtle features.

"Yes," was all he could reply. _She knows so much..._

"Maybe I will be safe with you. Meet me at the Doorway tomorrow and I'll explain everything. But you have to promise not to tell anyone... not even Sora and Kairi." Her tone was serious, quiet even.

For a moment, Riku was about to protest. Sora and Kairi were his best friends after all, how could he hide anything from them. Then again, if this girl was here to seek refuge and was willing to trust this information to _him_... _Maybe it's my turn to be the big hero. _"Alright."

She offered him a big smile and began to stand. "Wait!" He called to her before she could leave. Sephyria turned to him, a questioning look on her young features. "Where are you going to stay?"

"Don't worry about me," she began with a smile. "Just be here tomorrow, please." Not waiting for an answer, she ran back up the beach.


End file.
